Managing Death in Intensive Care Units

Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care supported a workshop, December 18-20, 1998, that identified a research and education agenda for improving the quality of care for patients dying in intensive care units.

It also developed specific methods for members of this group and others to continue to work together in this arena and to serve as a resource for funding agencies, researchers and educators.

Attendees included experts from diverse topic areas including clinical care medicine, palliative medicine, medical ethics and law and diverse occupations including physicians, nurses, social scientists, lawyers, social workers and chaplains.

This meeting resulted in:

• the establishment of the Promoting Excellence Critical Care Workgroup
• the publication of a research agenda: Rubenfeld GD, Curtis JR. End-of-life care in the intensive care unit: a research agenda. Crit Care Med 2001; 29:2001-6.
• and a book "Managing Death in the Intensive Care Unit" edited by J. Randall Curtis, MD and Gordon D. Rubenfeld, MD. (This book can be ordered from Oxford University Press by calling 1-800-451-7556.)

For more information contact:
J. Randall Curtis MD MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Washington
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
10EH-26 Harborview Medical Center
325 Ninth Avenue
Box 359762
Seattle, WA 98104-2499
Phone: 206.731.3356
Fax: 206.731.8584
Email: jrc@u.washington.edu

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Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care was a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation dedicated to long-term changes in health care institutions to substantially improve care for dying people and their families.